Transcript Evaluating Websites - Western Reserve Public Media

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To assure that the information is accurate
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To avoid being deceived
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To get a good grade
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Is the author of the site given? Is he/she
reputable? Can I find information about the
author?
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Is the site created by an organization? Can I find
information about the organization?
It is difficult to judge the authority of the writer of the
website. For help look at:
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The domain: .edu, .com, .org, .net
A header or footer that indicates the author’s affiliation
Example:
http://westernreservepublicmedia.org
What can you say about this site?
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Is the information on the site true? Can I verify it?
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Are the grammar and spelling correct?
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How old is the information? Is there a copyright
date?
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Has the site been updated?
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What is the focus of the site?
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Is the site easy to navigate?
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Are there clear headings so that I know what the
site is about?
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Is there a sponsor for the site? Does that sponsor
have an “issue?”
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Are inflammatory words used on the site?
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Is there bias in the information given on the site?
What is the site trying to do? Let’s look at an
example.
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FAIR — Federation for American Immigration
Reform: http://www.fairus.org/home
 What are the writers of the site trying to do?
 Is this an unbiased presentation of the information?
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Evaluation Criteria
http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
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Criteria for Evaluating Websites
http://www.classzone.com/books/research_guide/
page_build.cfm?content=web_eval_criteria&state=
none
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Library Learning Commons
http://www.fscj.edu/mydegree/library-learningcommons/assets/documents/web_site_eval.pdf